Aasha The Inspiration || Book Review

I was intrigued by the title of the book and looked forward to reading it. Aasha is all about the story of a village belle who swam against the tide and tried to make a mark for herself. It is the story of a girl Jyoti born in a non-descript village in Maharashtra into a joint family who could not stress less over the fact that girls are one day to be sent away to their husbands’ homes. Jyoti describes her life in her own words and lays bare things that she went through during the course of her life…how a daughter of a farmer, grew up to be the woman everyone in her village looked up to.

Her life was a struggle initially and she mentions the things she doesn’t like in the society she grew up. She is against punishing the children and also against gender based discrimination. Jyoti’s life is more or less similar to every Indian girl’s. Yet the story is all about how she discovered herself while trying to help out hapless people.

While working with an NGO, she was pressed down by the fact that funds were not sufficient to keep them going for a long stretch and that is when Jyoti took things into her own hands and took a bold step which resulted in not only her NGO making money, but it also helped create a niche for herself and become famous.

What I Liked

Crisp narrationReader can easily connect to the story, especially an Indian readerEmphasis on the idea that there should be no discrimination between a girl and a boy.

I Wish

The chapters were more detailedThe editing was betterA glossary of terms was provided for non English wordsDisclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author, however that in no way affects my review and this is an honest, unbiased review.